You've finished your comp exams and your coursework and now it's time to write your dissertation. You've chosen a topic within musician's health but your major professor doesn't know how to guide you. They are an expert in clarinet performance or voice pedagogy. They are supportive but you need a little bit more guidance.
You're in the right place!
The Resources
No researcher is complete without an expert guide on how to perform research in their chosen field. This incredible resource from researchers in England is every musician's health researcher's friend.
Click the link below to add it to your collection!
***Disclaimer: I am an Amazon affiliate and will recieve a small commission from you if you buy the book from the link above!
After you've purchased the book, to know how to compile and analyze research, now you need to look for what research has been done! My favorite tool is Google Scholar!
It's the most user-friendly of the scholarly databases to use and the majority of articles that you will need will be indexed there.
When you are searching for current research, here are some basic steps:
Topic: Clarinetists' Health Problems
Search Google Scholar for "Clarinetists Health Problems"
Then, break down searches using these search terms: "Clarinetist" AND "Pain" "Clarinetist" AND "Anxiety" Clarinetists" and "Performing-Related Health Problems" "Clarinetist and Nasal Grunting." This will give you more specific articles than the first one.
Then look for instrument-specific journals. For clarinetists, it's called The Clarinet. This journal isn't indexed in major scientific databases, but there are several articles in that journal that address clarinetists' health problems.
Create a database for all of the articles that you've found. Personally, I use google sheets. I keep track of each article I've found, when I read them, and important notes from each of them
Personalized Help?
Want more personalized help? I offer a one-on-one research starter call for $50.00.
Send me a message via my contact page go get started!
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Article by: Kensley Behel